Shortly after they traded for Garrett Crochet, the Boston Red Sox announced their hopes to extend him long-term.
Boston traded four top prospects for the lefty, who said he would be open to an extension wherever he ended up after leaving the Chicago White Sox. In order to get the most out of the trade, the Red Sox must extend him, and do it soon.
Despite the White Sox’s horrendous record last season, Crochet, a former reliever, still turned heads in the starting rotation with his elite stuff and staggering velocity. The lefty pitched to a 3.58 ERA with 209 strikeouts in just 146 innings of work. He boasted 92nd-percentile fastball velocity and a 98th-percentile strikeout percentage in 2024.
Crochet’s value is only increasing, and his spring training performances suggest it could rise fast. He hasn’t allowed a run in three Grapefruit League appearances and he’s clocked 14 strikeouts in 6.1 innings.
Crochet also knows how quickly his value is rising, and he’s just 25 years old, so his best years are probably ahead of him. He recently shared that he is not open to continuing potential contract extension conversations into the regular season.
“For me personally, once the season starts, I would like for whatever conversations are currently being had to be placed on the back burner until the following offseason,” Crochet said to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. “We have a big season ahead of us and we’re trying to do a lot of special things. I don’t want to be a distraction for the team in any way and I myself don’t want to be distracted by having to answer these kinds of questions in the media.”
Garrett Crochet unwilling to discuss contract extension with Red Sox after Opening Day
Opening Day is on March 27, which gives the Red Sox about three weeks to get an extension signed before Crochet potentially increases his value this year. If Boston can’t get a deal done, its chances of extending him may decrease substantially.
The Red Sox posted their first big-market offseason in six years this winter. Signing Alex Bregman pushed them over the luxury tax and they went all-in for Juan Soto, but they haven’t shown an inclination to spend as much on pitchers in years. If they let Crochet pitch without an extension this year and he makes 30 starts with the same 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings he posted in 2024, the Red Sox may never meet his asking price.
If Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman González all live up to their top prospect hype and Boston can’t get a solid deal for Crochet’s services long-term, the trade may have been in vain. The Red Sox either need to get a World Series with Crochet or an extension for the young lefty, and they’re running out of time to capitalize on the best price for the latter outcome.
